


Light at the Ends of the Earth

by WorryinglyInnocent



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: A Monthly Rumbelling, AU, F/M, Lost AU, Stranded Together
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-22
Updated: 2017-09-22
Packaged: 2019-01-04 04:33:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,868
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12161607
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WorryinglyInnocent/pseuds/WorryinglyInnocent
Summary: LostAU. After their plane crashes on a mysterious island, fellow travellers Belle and Gold find themselves drawn to one another as they ponder the roles they have to play within their small group of survivors.Based off the Monthly Rumbelling prompt: “Island, wildlife, family.”





	Light at the Ends of the Earth

**Summary:** _Lost_ AU. After their plane crashes on a mysterious island, fellow travellers Belle and Gold find themselves drawn to one another as they ponder the roles they have to play within their small group of survivors.

Based off the Monthly Rumbelling prompt: “Island, wildlife, family.”

**Rated:** G

=====

**Light at the Ends of the Earth**

"How long have we been on this island?"

"Two weeks."

Belle shielded her eyes from the sun as she glanced across at the man called Gold. He was staring straight out to sea, his long-ish grey-streaked hair blowing in the soft breeze. They were sitting on a ridge overlooking the beach where the survivors were camping. In a way, the little tents of wreckage gave her hope, a symbol of triumph over adversity. Finally, he turned to her. 

"How are you holding up?" he asked. Belle shrugged. 

"As well as can be expected, stranded on a weird island where the bushes shake and scream at night and the wildlife tries to kill us on a regular basis."

"Aye, polar bears on a pacific island." Gold gave a soft laugh. "You wouldn't really credit it, would you. It sounds like something out of one of the books that my grandson reads." There was a long pause and Gold lay back on the grass, closing his eyes. It was obvious that he was expecting her to say something else, but Belle wasn't sure that she was ready to give voice to the thoughts herself yet, let alone share them with another. But then again, if she was going to share her thoughts with anyone, it would be with Gold. Considering that they had all been practically strangers when they had first been thrown together, literally, in the aftermath of the crash, it was a testament to the communal nature of humanity that they had all ended up pairing off and forming little friendship groups along the way. She wasn't sure what had drawn her to Gold, and vice versa. She remembered seeing him in the airport before the flight had taken off, fidgeting nervously, the picture of anxiety at odds with his impeccably well-dressed self, and she'd asked him if he was all right.

He was a nervous flyer, he'd said. This was only the third flight he'd ever undertaken in his life and it never got any easier. Belle gave a wan smile at the memory. He certainly wasn't going to be any more confident after this experience, that was for sure. But in spite of it all, they had still managed to find each other after the wreck and they'd stuck together ever since. It had been interesting watching him come out of his shell, strange to see him wearing casual clothes when her first and lasting impression of him would always be as a sharp businessman with shaking hands. 

Finally she plucked up the courage to ask him the thing that he had been expecting, and the thing that she had been thinking, ever since they had landed so comparatively unscathed. 

"Do you think that we're dead?"

Gold didn't reply immediately, and he did not open his eyes when he did. 

"I'm not sure."

Belle glared unseen at him. That was not exactly reassuring. He looked over at her. 

"I suppose I'm fairly sure that we're not dead, but there are just the odd things that make me feel that maybe we are." He picked up something that had been lying on the grass beside him and handed it over. Belle saw that it was a walking cane, dark wood and an exquisitely carved gold handle. 

"It's beautiful," she said. "Where'd you find it in the wreckage?"

"I didn't find it." Gold's voice was quiet and there was a touch of wonder in it. "It's mine."

Belle raised an eyebrow. "I've never seen you use it before."

"No. Because ever since I first got to my feet on this island, I haven't needed it. I've not be able to walk without it for the past fifteen years, and suddenly, here, my ankle is strong and free of pain. So no, I'm not sure that we're not dead."

"Wow." They fell into silence again. It was good to spend time in the quiet. With every day bringing new threats to their survival and their chances of getting off the island looking ever slimmer, taking the time to just take some time was a way for Belle to count her blessings. Sure they might be dead, but if they weren't, then they were alive, and that was something miraculous that they really ought to be grateful for considering just how many other people had died in that crash. She glanced across to Gold again. He seemed peaceful for the first time since they had landed here, and Belle took it upon herself to wonder. He wasn't a great hero in the sense that he didn't have all that many skills that were useful in navigating life on this strange island, not like Jack or Sayid, but he had something else, something that made one trust him nonetheless. 

"I've decided something," she said aloud.

"Oh yes?"

"I think I know what your role is in our little camp."

"Really? I wasn't aware that I had one. I'm a pawnbroker from Scotland via Maine, I don't have all that many special skills."

"Maybe not practical skills, but still invaluable ones. Ok, so Jack's a doctor, and Sayid's good with technology and maps, and Hurley keeps morale up, and Locke... fuck knows, the man's practically MacGyver."

"And what do I do?"

"You're the camp dad."

Gold burst out laughing. "Really?"

"Yeah. You've got that kind of vibe about you. Protective, you know? Someone to rely on."

"Believe me, my son would beg to differ when it comes to me being a reliable father. That's why I was in Australia; I was going to visit him. It's the first time I'd seen him in ten years."

"Did it go well?" Belle hedged. Gold nodded.

"Yeah. Better than could be expected. I think that becoming a father himself changed his perspective. Typical that this had to happen just when we were getting along well and mending things between us. Which is why the majority of me believes that we're not dead, purely because I couldn't stand the thought that I would never see my family again. Maybe that's why I'm so protective of everyone. You're all the only family I've got at the moment."

They fell back into silence, watching what was happening on the beach. It looked like Locke was getting up another hunting party, and another argument had ensued. Belle thought that she was well out of the way up here. Gold chuckled, evidently thinking the same thing. 

"What about you?" he asked eventually. "What's your role?"

"I don't know. I don't think I have one. Just general gofer whenever something needs a hand. I've been keeping an eye on Claire a lot, Aussies need to stick together after all."

"Of course."

Belle glanced at him as the waning sunlight over the island painting the streaks of silver in his hair gold. She wished she hadn't said what she had about him being the camp dad. It was true, he was pretty paternal with most of them, but her own feelings towards him were definitely not of that sort. And to be fair, he treated her as a friend and confidante just as she did him. Maybe it was just because they were trapped together in close quarters that she was thinking these kinds of things. Once they were rescued they would go about their business and their separate lives like they would have done without the island, just having met briefly in the departure lounge, discussing nervous flying. Belle's mind came full circle back to that first meeting and she wondered if that was why Gold opened up to her more than the others, because she had already seen him so vulnerable before they took off. She didn't know. All she knew was that she really wanted to learn more about this man, and hope that in time, her feelings would sort themselves out into something that she could properly explain and not second guess all the time. There were definitely other little sparks of attraction flying around the survivors’ camp. Maybe they would turn into something strong and durable, and something beautiful could blossom from this seemingly hopeless situation that they had found themselves in, here in the middle of nowhere. If nothing else, they could appreciate the beautiful sunset together, the pink and golden light providing them some peace. 

"Do you think of me as a father figure to you?" Gold asked presently. 

Belle shook her head. "No. You give off that vibe with everyone else, but not with me."

Gold smiled. "Good."

He didn't say anything else, but Belle couldn't help a little hopeful smile from creeping over her face, because in that moment she was certain that she was thinking the same thing as he was. Sure, it was probably a bad idea, all things considered. If it went wrong then they had no idea how long they were going to be stuck on this island together. But then again, it might go very right, and with their survival - hell, with their state of life or death - still up in the air, it felt wrong not to take that chance now that it had been presented to them. She inched a little closer to Gold on the grass, leaning into his side. 

"It's beautiful isn't it?" she said, watching the sunset. 

"So are you," he replied nonchalantly. Belle giggled, and the corner of Gold's mouth quirked up in that self-satisfied little smirk that she had seen on him a few times over the last couple of weeks. "All right, maybe that was a bit corny. I haven't tried to flirt for almost thirty years, cut me some slack."

"I'll let you off this time."

"It's strange. If I'd come across you in my everyday life, as terribly unlikely as that seems, I would never have had the courage to do that," Gold admitted. "I think it's this island. It's doing strange things to all of us. Encouraging us to seize the day, because it might be our last. When you've been so close to death as we have it puts things in perspective."

"Yeah, I think so too. And I'm glad it did."

"Really?"

"Yes. Just think of all the opportunities that might have been missed if it didn't."

"True enough."

They were both leaning in, but Belle knew that for all they were seizing the day, she was going to have to be the one to actually seize it and take that plunge. She pressed her lips against Gold's and he accepted her kiss readily. It was a soft, tentative thing, not exactly full of passion, and for now, Belle was content with it. This thing between them had bloomed in the most unlikely circumstances and it would require careful nurturing and attention to let it thrive. But they'd survived so far, and surely this little flame could survive as well. 


End file.
